Peru: illegal Anchovy fishing big business

Anchovy fishing per year amounts to six million tonnes but up to one million tonnes of the pelagic resource is illegally caught, stated the president of the National Fisheries Society (SNP), Elena Conterno Martinelli. In an interview with Diario Correo, the SNP president made a critical analysis of the new fishing quota system established by Supreme Decree 005 and of the industry outlook. The official stressed that the fishing industry is the second most important one for the economy of Peru, behind mining, and employs about 230,000 people directly and indirectly. On the impact of the international crisis in the Peruvian fishing industry, Conterno explained that “the anchovy is a commodity, but the growth of world income level, which requests protein, has increased the demand.” And she added that “the problem has been internal.” Read Article